Seemingly western advisers to AIDS ravaged countries don't want to promote fidelity and abstinence even though the Africans know that is the only way to stop the AIDS crisis on their continent.
While the US Senate considers a proposal to allocate US$50 million more for AIDS prevention programmes, one Ugandan expert says it will be wasted money if the attitudes of the Western AIDS prevention community towards AIDS transmission do not change. In a column appearing in the Washington Post on June 30, one of Uganda's leading AIDS prevention experts called on the Western "experts" to "Let my people go."
"We understand that casual sex is dear to you, but staying alive is dear to us. Listen to African wisdom, and we will show you how to prevent AIDS."
"Repeatedly, our 25-member prevention committee put faithfulness and abstinence into the National Strategic Plan that guides how PEPFAR [President's Emergency Plan for HIV-AIDS Relief] money for our country will be spent. Repeatedly, foreign advisers erased our recommendations. When the document draft was published, fidelity and abstinence were missing."
The Ugandan success story is one of the most impressive in the fight against AIDS. Between 1989 and 1995, the number of men having three or more sexual partners in a year dropped from 15 to three per cent and HIV rates plunged from 21 percent in 1991 to 6 percent in 2002. At the same time, Western nations brought more than 2 billion condoms on Africa and the epidemic continued in nations that went along with the condoms-only approach.
I feel badly for the Ugandans. They would probably be better off telling the US Gov. to eat dirt and then asking for funding from non-governments (501(c)(3)s or private individuals) that agree with abstinence and fidelity.
It is disgusting to me that much of the developed world values casual sex more than they value African lives.
It is amazing to me that you can be an AIDS expert and not be in favor of abstinence and fidelity. Where has common sense gone?
2 comments:
My professional life has been spent in Public Health. I've mentioned on my blog that I was usually the only conservative in the room when at various meetings I would attend. The pat answer from public health professionals about abstinence is the following:
"it is ridiculous to think that anyone is going to abstain from sex, so there is no need to even mention abstinence" (this included talking about teenagers).
Public health in this country is promoting casual sex to all age groups. They are convincing kids that EVERYONE has sex before they are married, and what teen wants to be the "freak" who doesn't have sex.
Personally, I believe that many in my profession are on the forefront of the moral decline in this country. As a Christian and a Public Health professional, that makes me doubly sad.
Onemom,
Well said as usual. I am glad there are health professionals out there like you that are willing to take a stand. Thanks for all you do.
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